Three homes for horsey folk (or anyone who loves the country life)

Aucklander Danielle Davison’s family has a long and illustrious connection to horses. In 1949, her great-grandfather founded the Papatoetoe Pony Club, one of the first in the region.

Today, she lives near the pony club, in a six-bed, five-bath 559m² equestrian home she extended and renovated in 2019, when she and her family returned from Australia.

Clevedon was the “natural choice” for the Davisons, as so many of Danielle’s relatives were already living there. It’s also a tight-knit, supportive community with strong ties to the local school and polo club, which was a huge draw.

"The children had grown up in the city, in Sydney, and it was just so refreshing to be in a small, old Kiwi town, really,“ says Davison. "They could have bunnies, and we got puppies and horses.

“It's a beautiful little community, and we had a lot of family here that are involved in the thoroughbred racing scene and polo."

The house at 197 Papakura-Clevedon Rd also provided Davison with an opportunity. An interior designer by trade, her first order of business was creating a modern home for her family and guests.

Inspired by the horse barns of Virginia in the US, she added a high-stud, barn-style extension to the original 80s-built home, with a carriage-house entrance to the backyard. Then they lifted the existing garage to create a guest house.

Barn-style shutters on the original house tie it into the extension, giving the sense the home has always been part of the rural surrounds.

Inside, one standout room is the kitchen, which doubles as an entertaining space.

“It's such a great kitchen to have a lot of people around,” Davison says. “One thing in the country is there's no Uber Eats, you're always cooking from scratch. So you actually really appreciate having all that space."

For the horses, they added post and rail fencing - safest for horses and ponies - to the six paddocks surrounding the home. There was an existing stable with three horse boxes, and the Davisons added training areas.

“It’s not a big stable, but we put in the arena and a lunging round pen because we started breeding thoroughbreds."

"It feels like a private park now. It's close to the road, but when you're out there, you just feel like it could be anywhere. It's got a really lovely feel."

The property suits horses so well because of the soil. With its well-draining peat soil and good grass, Davison says Clevedon is considered some of the best land for horses in the country.

"We put a race in, so it was easy to access all the paddocks. And they all have big established trees, so there's plenty of shelter. It's a beautiful horse property."

Sitting on 7.95ha, the property has accommodated eight polo ponies, with the land divided into smaller paddocks.

“If you had just thoroughbreds, six to eight would be perfect. You could still rotate them."

Cross-grazing, where ponies and horses rotate through paddocks alongside sheep and cattle, improves pasture quality and horse health. There’s ample room to run a hobby flock or herd on the estate with your string of ponies.

The location, too, is a cracker for anyone interested in polo, or ponies. Being close to the activities you want to do with your horses is, Davison says, one of the most important factors when choosing an equestrian home. Clevedon has everything the family needed.

"All the polo grounds are there, and it's arguably the best pony club in the country, the Papatoetoe Pony Club, which is just five minutes around the corner."

Now, however, circumstances have changed, and they have decided to put the property on the market.

With a CV of $4,300,000, the home and stud farm is for sale by negotiation. The listing is with Peter Sullivan and Kristina Liu for Bayleys.

While this home is smaller at five beds and 359m², the property at 167 Holdens Rd, Clevedon, is much larger at 14.63ha. Most of it is a huge swathe of native bush. But closer to the home there are lawns and mature gardens, as well as fenced grazing paddocks.

The barn-style house is positioned at the front of the property to capture views over the rolling paddocks. There’s also a minor dwelling and a large shed. The home also has a pool and hot tub, as well as a covered outdoor living room.

With a CV of $3m, the home is for sale by negotiation. The listing is with Peter Sullivan and Kristina Liu for Bayleys.

With a CV of $5,500,000, the property has an asking price of $5,695,000. The listing is with Matthew Wafer for NZ Sothebys International Realty.